Former leading New Zealand publisher and bookseller, and widely experienced judge of both the Commonwealth Writers Prize and the Montana New Zealand Book Awards, talks about what he is currently reading, what impresses him and what doesn't, along with chat about the international English language book scene, and links to sites of interest to booklovers.

Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Storytelling and bookshop love to pull the punters nationwide on NZ Bookshop Day

'Bookshops are
gateways to a thousand other worlds, ten thousand imaginations and a million
possibilities,’ wrote Marcus Hobson in his winning Love Letter to your Bookshop
entry last year.

Discover these
worlds at your community bookshop this NZ Bookshop Day, no matter where you are
in New Zealand on Saturday 28 October. Booksellers NZ CEO Lincoln Gould says,

‘Nielsen
figures show that book sales are on the rise. This year the growth is being
driven by factors that aren’t flashes-in-the-pan: the essential place of the
bookshop as centre of the community, and the loyalty of bookshop-lovers.

‘In the past
two months, we have seen first The Children’s Bookshop in Kilbirnie
celebrate 25 years in business; then Unity Books in Wellington celebrate 50
years. The Paper Plus chain celebrated 35 years earlier this year. And even
more remarkably on Bookshop Day itself, Hedley’s Booksellers in Masterton is
celebrating 110 years with 11% off books.’

This longevity
speaks volumes as bookshops look nervously towards Australia, where Amazon is
setting up shop. It is more important than ever to remember what you love about
your local bookshop, and why it is you need it in your life.

The Love
Letter to your Bookshop competition attracted over 500 entries last year, and
bookshops are reporting some amazing love-letters already this year. We also
invited NZ authors to submit love letters to their own bookshops.

The
Women’s Bookshop offers engagement with ideas to Dame Fiona Kidman:
‘You emerged out of the time of great upheavals and change in women’s lives,
the times when we took to the streets to protest inequality, the times when we
demanded freedom to express ourselves with out censorship, the times when we
came together with a common voice. Those were stirring times. But the dreams we
had for the future survive. In The Women’s Bookshop, our voices live.’

Unity Books in
Wellington offers a friendly space to Renée:
‘It’s like I’m walking
into a friend’s place except I can wander around, pick up books off the shelf
or a table, and even sit down and read them because you provide chairs.'

University Bookshop Canterbury inspired Dr.
Hilary Low to talk about her nephews’ impressions of the range: ‘When they
walked through the bookshop door they thought they'd arrived in paradise. Here
were books – beautiful new books, from floor to ceiling on every subject
imaginable.’

There are dozens of events lined up for the
Day, with highlights including:

-Time Out Bookstore in Mt Eden hosts
Howl-o-ween – in store treats, staff dress-ups and bring your pup in for Wolfy goody bags (dog costumes encouraged.) The winners of
the review competition will also be announced.

-Dorothy Butler Children’s Bookshop in Ponsonby has two
fabulous author events: meet Nevermoor author Jessica
Townsend at 11.00am, and Kat Merewether is launching her new Kuwi books from 2.00pm.

-Wardini Books in Napier will host children’s author
Donovan Bixley, who is live-drawing from 11.30am. They will also host Charity
Norman during the day.

-Vic Books in Kelburn, Wellington will be turned into a
children’s theatre from 11am, featuring a very special fairy tale being acted
out by PlayShop, storytelling with Baz MacDonald, and
Disney songs sung by Kapitall Kids Theatre.

-Volume Books in Nelson will be ‘Reading the Booker’ from
2pm, then launching Casual Shorts from 2.45pm, followed by their draw of
‘Bookstore Bingo’

-Scorpio Books in Christchurch hosts The Ngaio Marsh Awards and The Great Lit Quiz, at Scorpio
Bookshop in Christchurch. The awards start at 5.30pm. Put together a team
of book-enthusiasts for a quiz of crime novels and other genres! Cost is $80
for a table of 5.

-University Book Shop Otago has turned pirate and locked
up some authors! Get your little ones into pirate disguise and find pirate
cupcakes, gold doubloons and more this NZ Bookshop Day.

As well as
events, you will find discounts and book deals in your local bookshops. While
Paper Plus has 25% off all books for the day, many indies have hand-picked
their specials. Scorpio Bookshop in Christchurch for instance, will be selling their
favourite HarperCollins books for only $10 each to celebrate 200 years of HC.

As poet
Jeffrey Holman says: ‘Should I lay down my iPhone and repent, turn again to the
halls of print and hold a book like a talisman once more, a reminder of how
truths on paper have set me free: truths of the imagination, of science, of
faith? Visit my local bookshop while it still remains and buy New Zealand made?
Yes, I think so.’

So grab your
friends and family and visit your local bookshop this NZ Bookshop Day.